At a time when violent, visceral deathmatching was attracting PC gamers, Bohemia Interactive quietly let loose a modern warfare simulation called Operation Flashpoint (OFP). Rather than focus on any particular role, OFP had you sneaking through the night on commando raids, rolling over the countryside in an M1A1 Abrams tank, or flying search and destroy missions in a gunship. Such a cocktail of gameplay could have bombed, but the open, continuous terrain and dedication to realism not only made OFP a winner with gamers, but gained the attraction of defense organisations, spawning the VSB1 military grade simulator.

Now that Bohemia Interactive has finished training military forces around the world, it’s turned its attention back to PC gaming with Armed Assault. This spiritual sequel (Codemasters, OFP’s publisher, has retained the original name) bears all the hallmarks of OFP, yet brings it up to date with a polished graphics engine and refined gameplay.

The main plot takes place on the mythical island Sahrani, which is conveniently divided into a north and south side. As a member of the US Army in the south, it’s your job to take care of an uprising from the north by the pesky Sahrani Liberation Army. Similar to OFP, Armed Assault makes heavy use of lengthy in-game cut scenes which help to keep the missions flowing from one point to the next. Most cut scenes have you driving across many kilometres of terrain, giving you a first hand glimpse of the islands continuous 400 square kilometres - you can literally run the length of the island without seeing a loading screen.

Once you arrive at the destination, more often than not you’re thrown in the middle of a gunfight, trying to keep up with changing mission objectives and new orders flying thick and fast over the radio. The chaos can be frustrating, but it’s a necessary element to keep up the realistic edge. Outside the main missions, you’ll also get a chance to complete various side missions ranging from sabotage, to sniping, to escort duty.



Unfortunately, where some missions are finely crafted, others feel contrived or nonsensical. One particular night-time sabotage mission has you trying to take out a couple of vehicles under the cover of darkness, without giving you a silenced rifle. A recent patch rectified the problem, but it gives the impression that Armed Assault is very much a work in progress. The ambitious design has also left other holes in the game, particularly in the interface. Squad control, for example, requires too much menu control, making even simple commands unnecessarily frustrating, and intense combat situations impractical.

These poorly implemented features detract from the game, but they aren’t show stoppers. There is so much depth and variety to Armed Assault that if you’re frustrated by one element, you’re bound to find ten other things that will hold your interest. It’s a worthy successor to Operation Flashpoint, and the combination of strong support from BI and a dedicated modding community, ensures this game will stay on your hard drive for years.